Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Tallinn Café Scene: Kehrwieder cafés

This is my last installment about variouscafés in Tallinn. Kehrwieder is actually a chain of very cosy cafés in my home town, and the pictures here are from Saiakangi Café & Chocolaterie, on a small sidestreet just off the Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats). As I went to school within the walls surrounding the Old Town, I walked on this street often. And I still remember when it used to be a florist during the dark Soviet years:)

It is still dark - though nowadays not because of the Soviet shadows, but because it is located in a basement floor. This dark cosyness/cosy darkness is characteristic of Kehrwieder cafés as they tend to be tucked away in medieval courtyards and behind thick medieval stone walls. Another favourite of mine is their Tristan & Isolde café, which is under one of the vaults of the Town Hall itself. And believe me, there's something very romantic about sipping your coffee* surrounded by 14th century walls.. Especially during dark cold winter nights, when your table has nothing else than a candle on it - how romantic is that?? However, should you feel like reading a book in solitude for a couple of hours (and I've done that in many a Kehrwieder café), then the tables have discreet desktop lamps, so you don't have to strain your eyes too much. This is something I don't understand about Edinburgh cafés - they're either too bright to be cosy, or then they are strictly candlelight only, so it is your own interest not to read anything..

Again - there is a wide array of really yummy seasonal cakes and tarts in this place (behind the glass display) in addition to the usual range of yeast pastries (the basket on the left). I also like their salads - these come with either tuna or smoked chicken, and are light and cheap, perfect for a quick lunch. Also a wide choice of teas and coffees, as well as wine or spirits. A small class of liqueur with your coffee is quite common in Estonia:)

The main downside - I don't comprehend it, but for some weird reason they use UHT milk for making coffee. And that's not good. But for their cakes and general atmosphere - recommended.

* Or hõõgvein (mulled wine/glögg) which is the choice of hot drink once it's dark outside again..

I love the mismatched chairs in the last picture! It does look very cosy in there :-)

I went to Tallin a couple of years back. I was based in Finland and we took a trip from there...we saw the Old Town, so lovely! We ate in a place much like you described, dark and cosy, "tucked away in medieval courtyards and behind thick medieval stone walls"...

Hi Pille , you do seem to be a café-lover ! (Just as I am, especially as far as my breakfast-ritual is concerned ;-)so you should come and see our traditional Viennese coffeehouses one day ! Would be great to show you around...by the way, "Kehrwieder" is German and means "come back"...kind regards, angelika

Shauna - I know:) I've learnt loads already by reading other blogs - or internet in general. And spending hours reading in a cosy café is a lovely pasttime. My problem is that most of my work can be done this way as well, but it makes me feel guilty, so I try to resist the temptation and read in my office instead..

Paz - UHT milk is ultrahigh-temperature-treated milk, or basically milk that remains "fresh" for months and months on end. Although it may be convenient to have one in your fridge for emergencies, it does have a weird side-flavour and I can't see why they use it in a café that goes through loads of milk on a regular basis. Lazyness I guess..'Musi' is more or less correct, though it should be in accusative and usually in plural in this context ('musisid'). But I won't get into the grammar here - it would take me a while to explain the stuff about Finno-Ugric heritage, no future tense, and 14 cases:)

Joey - am so glad to hear that you enjoyed your daytrip to Tallinn. I think it's a wonderful place, too, if I may say so:)

Angelika - I guess that's true. I'd love to visit Viennese coffeehouses one day - I've heard lots of good things about them! Tallinn had a very vibrant and Central European style café scene in the interwar period, and now cafés are becoming popular again.

Angelika - thanks for clarifying the meaning of 'kehrwieder' - I didn't know that. The café banner also says "kaduv kunst", which means "disappearing art/skill", and I thought it was related to the name..

Hi Sandeep,thanks for your compliments! It's funny to hear about Andres (an Estonian, I gather by name) offering you a milky Vana Tallinn cocktail:)There's no need to mix these two nowadays - Liviko, the company who makes Vana Tallinn, is now also producing a cream liqueur with the same name. Beats Bailey's etc any day - so much more flavour and less sugary.. And soooo nice in a coffee or over ice cream:)

Great little resturant but too dark. On Sept. 9th 2009, while we were visiting Tallin on a 10 day cruise, my wife was inside to check out the pastry's and she was pick pocket while inside of about $ 65.00. Just a warning!!!